Different Camera Types

By Author: Ackley Cooper Shaw
Total Articles: 211
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“You don’t take a photograph, you make it”

- Ansel Adams

Photography is an art indeed. It is the hobby, passion, as well as profession of many. Taking the best shot needs a good hand at photography and a knowledge of the skills and techniques needed. The right kind of camera is also essential for taking the best of photos. Let’s look at some of the kinds of cameras with their features:

Point and Shoot

With Point and Shoot cameras (often abbreviated as P&S), you point the camera at something and just trip the shutter. The camera does all the work for you. The cameras started out as a fixed lens (basically a box with a shutter) that could focus about 4 foot in the front, with a fixed shutter speed and aperture. Today the P&S are much more sophisticated, most of them being digital. The cameras feature metering systems that calculate the amount of light entering the camera. It has variable aperture and shutter speed (unlike the older P&S). It also has preset controls for various photographic situations like landscape, people, nigh time, close- up or macro. The biggest drawback ...
... to a P&S is that it lacks a TTL (through the lens) viewfinder, which means that what is seen through the viewfinder may not be what is captured on film. The benefit is that they are small in size and can easily fit in a pocket or purse. They are best for taking casual snaps, where creating memories is the motive, not creating a marketable image.

Compact digital cameras

These cameras come in compact and ultra compact sizes, the compacts weighing around 5- 10 ounces and the ultra compacts around 4- 8 ounces. These are ideal for fully automatic photography. Many of these cameras do not have manual overrides for things like shutter speed and aperture. All current day compacts have scene modes like portrait, snow, beach, macro, etc. The cameras give a decent zoom range but there is no provision for changing the lens in case a longer or wider focal length is required. Also they have a slower shutter speed than DSLR cameras.

SLR and DSLRs

The biggest advantage of these types of cameras is their ability to change lenses as and when required. They are available in different range, from entry level to the completely professional ones. The cameras enable fully manual operation which gives you the most control over taking the photo. Most DSLRs are designed with dust removal systems that help in combating dust on the image sensor.

Advanced digital cameras

These are also known as advance digital, prosumer and bridge cameras. They are available in a wide range of shapes and sizes, some similar to the compacts, some others to the DSLRs. They are larger than the compacts in size and come with a fairly wide range of focal lengths and good quality zoom. Another benefit is that these cameras can be manually controlled (like a DSLR) but like the DSLR the lenses cannot be changed. They are lighter than the DSLRs, ranging anywhere from 10 ounces to 20 ounces (can be more for larger models).

If you are all set to buy yourself a camera this New Year, look out the best camera deals online.